Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-08-19

Upon the shore near the boat house the
band diSCCurScd pleasant music, and the
splash of oars dipping in the water and
rejecting the moonbeams. as the waves
rose and fcll. kept time to the concord of
sweet sounds. Ii was good might for
story telling. and the rlrty at the club
house had been indulginf in that paStime
for nearly an hour, when one Of the
strangers. who. 10y the way. was All artist,
threw away his cigar and related the fol-
lowing adventure:
such an evening a this always recalls
to my mind an experience which ! hau
when WAS a student in the city of Bal
timure Many of the students lived in
the city and took nearly rs much inter
est in society rs they did i'll their school
work In fact. with them, Il good time
was the chief object of life. One of the
fellows of our set owned Il yacht, and in
consequence We all cultivated his ac-
quaintance. Que day he told us that he
was expecting to entertain a party of
young ladies that evening, and that he
wished to rely upon us for assistance.
Oi course we We're all delighted to go
sailing in such merry company, and
that night a dozen happy young people
went gliding up the bay in as stanch q
Yacht aS ever divided the waters of the
| Chesapeake We had sailed about ten
miles, and were quite near the shore,
| when il was suggested that we land be
fore making Il tack for our return. The
/ boat was turned and i'll a few moments we
were upon the shore.
As we approached the land we saw a
| light climmer through the foliage. The
| ground WAS laid out with regular rows
Of trees that stood Like tall scntinels in
| the bright moonlight Broad gravel
walks led from the saa Z, and the lawn
was iutersected with carriage drives.
| Upon the hillside a couple Of fountains re
ficcted the moonbeams upon the surround
ing evergreens and upon every side were
flower beds whose bright blossoms drank
in the sparkling dew drops and diffused
| rich Coloring over the landscape The
natural beauty nf the park was enriched
by every device of art and landscape gar
dening Appearances indicated that
| we were treSpassinC upon the pri-
| vate grounds of an aristocratic rural
residence, but one of the fellows.
who pretended to he acquainted in the
| ncighborhood, said that the grounds We're
public and that the light proceeded from a
| hotel which was a sort Of a summer re-
! sort. II was at once proposed that we
| have refreshments, and of we started in
the direction Of the light. The young
| lady whom | escorted took my arm. and
we led the party toward the eminence.
| There was little rivalry to see who should
| get there first, and on that account we did
not notice the deserted appearance of the
| place. nor realize the sCrape that we were
| getting into We hurried through the
! grounds and approached grand old man.
| vcranda. The background of the veranda
was broken by the shadows of the sup
| porting columns iuteriinked with the
moving and ghost Ike shadows of the
| surrounding trees. which We're swayed
| To and fro in the moonlight by the night
! wind. We were hard pressed by the
| young people behind Us. and finished
| the race with run up the steps. | gave
| the doOrhcll violent jerk, and its echo
| ing sound aw0ke me To a sense Of my
stupidity. 1t was no hotel, but private
house Behind me heard the laughter
Of the young folks. Within the house |
heard door open. and through a guuzy
curtain SAW the light stream from
lighted apartment into the dark hall. A
ii ,rure bearing a lamp came toward the
door felt the hand of my companion
tremble as she grasped my arm, for at
the last moment she realized what IA pre-
diCament we We're in. The door opened
and a man wearing a dressing gown and
in his stocking feet stood before me. |
felt that we Were in for it, and in a spirit
OF hravado hlurtcd out that we We're a
yachting party looking for refreshments.
My nOnChalance seemed To please him, for
n welcoming smile oVerspread his coun-
tenance, and in full voice, with Ger
man accent, he bade Ills enter. We en-
tered Il reception room. which was richly
furnished and ubounded in books, bric-a-
brac, antique ornaments and bizarre
relics. An air of disorder perva, ed
the place, and everything was topsy
turvy. Evidently the magic hand
of woman was unknown. \ little
black dog skipped eround the heels
oi our German host, and harked a
canine welcome in tones of amazemcnt.
Il am glad to see you.' said our Ger
man friend in his rich hrogre, but you
must excuse appearances. 1t is long
time since this room has heard any hu-
man voice except when | have talked to
my dog Tower. Amuse yourselves for
few moments. and | will see if l cannot
find something with which you can re
fresh yourselves"
We seated ourselves about the room.
but scarcely a word was uttered We
were all awed by the subdued, weird
mystery of the surroundings, but We
suddenly regained our spirits when the
German appeared with Il basket of fruit,
n dish of doUghnUts, and a pitcher Of
rich, fresh milk. The catablcs soon dis
appeared, and then one Of the ladies sat
down at the piano and played a dreamy
fantasi Then the German brought out
violin, anr soon We were all keeping
time To lively music. Our host proposed
a dance The furniture was removed fror
the adjacent lining room and in fe"
minutes we were t.eading the giddy mazcs
of the waltz.
We'll, said my partner when we had
stopped Ia take breath, this beats all the
fantastic adventures | ever heard of sup
pose you examine this Old German and
lind ont what sor. of place this is"
Acting on tdis Sug Lcstiun. opened CON
Fersatlon aS soon IS there was lull in
&c festivities. lie met me half way in
my advances, and when | inquired about
the huuse lc offered 10 show US about 1t
was an imposing Old mansion. although
the furniture and decorations belonged TO
the fashions of the preceding decade. On
cay. What chiefly interested me. how
ever, was the sight of three portraits
hanging upon the walls Of the library, and
my interest was greatly increased when |
| heard the strange, sad story |
which our guide related. The |
pictures were those of n middle aged lady |
and gentleman, and of a beautiful little |
girl about six years of age They were |
oil paintings, and indicated the touch of |
masters hand. The gentleman had
soldicrly bearing, and his face showed |
courage and resolution. The firm set law |
and the lines about the mouth indicated
strength of character; yet there was a
pleasant. animated expression Of kind
and gentle disposition. The eyes and hair
were dark, and | readily understood our
guide when he elaborated upon the jet |
blackness Of the originals He was evil
IDENTIFY a man who conld command the ad-